MSEE Principal Investigators

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  Kaustubh K. Bawane

  Idaho National Laboratory

  kaustubh.bawane@inl.gov

  Understanding molten salt corrosion mechanisms by analyzing salt-metal interfaces using advanced electron microscopy techniques including STEM-EDS, electron energy loss spectroscopy, precision electron diffraction, etc.

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  Vyacheslav Bryantsev

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  bryantsevv@ornl.gov

  (865) 576-4272

  Performing ab initio and classical molecular dynamics simulations to unravel structural, thermodynamic, and kinetic principles of ion-pairing and coordination that govern the chemistry of molten salts in bulk and liquid/solid interfaces.

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  Karen Chen-Wiegart

  Stony Brook University,
  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  Karen.Chen-Wiegart@stonybrook.edu

  631) 632-4537

  Understanding the interaction between molten salts and metallic materials, including the effects of impurities on corrosion phenomena with synchrotron X-ray microscopy and spectroscopy.

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  Adrien Couet

  University of Wisconsin-Madison

  couet@wisc.edu

  Studying materials degradation using state of the art characterization techniques and first principle modelling, as well as designing alloys using high-throughput experimentation and machine-learning based modelling.

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  Sheng Dai

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  dais@ornl.gov

  (865) 576-7307

  An internationally-recognized expert in molten salts and ionic liquids, Dai is coordinating the synthesis and characterization of molten salt systems and assisting in organizing Thrust I activities.

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  Anatoly Frenkel

  Brookhaven National Laboratory,
  Stony Brook University

  frenkel@bnl.gov

  (631) 344-3013

  Investigating metal ion and nanoparticle speciation in molten salts and their structural, electronic and thermal properties using in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and machine learning methods.

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  Ruchi Gakhar

  Idaho National Laboratory

  Ruchi.Gakhar@inl.gov

  Preparing and characterizing molten salt systems containing transition metals, lanthanides and actinides, and applying structural (X-ray) and spectroscopic (X-ray, UV-Vis and Raman) techniques to deduce metal ion speciation.

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  Simerjeet Gill

  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  gills@bnl.gov

  (631) 344-5633

  Studying corrosion at molten salt-metal interfaces in electrochemical environments using synchrotron-based diffraction and spectroscopy methods and performing multi-modal in-situ corrosion studies (XRF, DPC, CDI) with sample systems compatible with both the NSLS-II HXN beamline and ETEM at CFN.

• 

  Gregory P. Holmbeck

  Idaho National Laboratory

  gregory.holmbeck@inl.gov

  Conducting steady-state molten salt radiation chemistry experiments with and without the presence of actinide elements at INL and handling the manipulations for actinide-molten salt pulse radiolysis experiments at BNL’s LEAF facility.

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  Alexander Ivanov

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  ORNL Research Scientist I

  ivanova@ornl.gov

  (865) 576-1753

  Developing and applying X-ray/neutron scattering techniques to investigate ion pairing, coordination, and real-space dynamics of molten salt systems.

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  Jay LaVerne

  University of Notre Dame

  laverne.1@nd.edu

  (574) 631-5563

  Examining the effects of radiation on molten salts and interfaces of molten salts with metals and metal oxides, using gamma rays and helium ions (the latter to mimic alpha particles).

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  Edward Maginn

  University of Notre Dame

  ed@nd.edu

  (574) 631-5687

  Using molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations to predict liquid structure as well as bulk thermodynamic and transport properties of molten salt systems, including force field development, algorithm design and execution of the simulations/analysis studies.

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  Shannon Mahurin

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  mahurinsm@ornl.gov

  (865) 241-3417

  Using spectroscopy, neutron and x-ray scattering to understand bulk molten salt structure, with a specific emphasis on pair distribution function analysis to examine intermediate and long-range order.

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  Claudio J. Margulis

  University of Iowa

  claudio-margulis@uiowa.edu

  (319) 335-0615

  Conducting classical and quantum molecular dynamics calculations with the objective of computing X-ray scattering spectra of molten salts, reactivity of excess charges, and calculations to describe the structure and dynamics of molten salts at interfaces.

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  Benjamin Ocko

  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  ocko@bnl.gov

  (631) 344-4299

  Applying synchrotron X-ray scattering methods to study molten salt interfaces and developing high temperature, molten salt surface X-ray scattering cells for these challenging experiments.

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  Simon M. Pimblott

  Idaho National Laboratory

  simon.pimblott@inl.gov

  (208) 526-7499

  Participating in radiation chemical and redox experiments and developing computational models for the radiation chemistry and redox kinetics in molten salts that incorporate the experimentally-derived yields of primary radiolytic transients and their reactions with metal ion solutes, and reactions between intermediate product species.

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  Santanu Roy

  Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  roys@ornl.gov

  (865) 576-1753

  Performing ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of molten salts to investigate their structural and dynamical properties in bulk and at interfaces, including the development and applications of reaction rate theory to examine ion-pairing and ion-exchange processes in molten salts.

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  Kotaro Sasaki

  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  ksasaki@bnl.gov

  (631) 344-3446

  Performing in-situ studies on interfacial and corrosion processes in molten salts using newly-developed electrochemical cells coupled with ETEM and synchrotron-based multi-modal X-ray techniques.

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  Katsuyo Thornton

  University of Michigan

  kthorn@umich.edu

  Harnessing the power of high performance computing to elucidate physical mechanisms underlying microstructure formation and evolution in molten salt environment.

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  James Wishart

  Brookhaven National Laboratory

  wishart@bnl.gov

  (631) 344-4327

  Conducting pulse radiolysis kinetics measurements of reactions in molten salts, including the yields of primary radiolytic transients and their reactions with metal ion solutes, reactions between intermediate product species and the kinetics and redox energetics of nanoparticle formation